Terumah: The Will That Builds |
Does suppressing an emotion mean that we aren’t interested in it at all?
We hear of Tzaddikim who could not contain their love toward Hashem, and even publicly acted with great passion. So too are there many who would not display such affection out in the open, but that does not mean that they do not love Him.
Why is it then that when we hold back from showing our position to another, we end up bottling up the feeling and have to wait for another opportunity to tell them how we truly feel? Shouldn’t we be able to quietly announce our heart’s yearning and still achieve the same connection?
It seems that we can and that we can express love in many different ways. But what surely is not an expression is not doing anything at all. Suppression does not only withhold the current feeling, it also dampens the next one. Much like someone who wants to call a friend but does not, after a year they think to themselves, “I haven’t spoken to them in so long, it would be weird if I called right now…” It is unfortunately the silent thoughts in our heads that trip us up and remove us from life itself.
Expression is the opposite of suppression, and we need to release what we have on the inside. Although some places need a certain decorum and politeness, there are still many ways to reveal our innermost feelings to those who need to hear and see them.
Loving Hashem with all of your heart, soul, and might, is done exactly as prescribed. With fervor and no holding back. May it be after years of not speaking, or on a daily basis, it does not matter, as long as we do not shy away, filled with shame, from doing it.
People can become possessed by the thoughts they have in their hearts, positively and negatively. This is not a simple theory, just ask yourself, “How many times have I pushed off Davening loudly?” This alone shows you that after a while you became accustomed to Davening with a quiet tone in the back of the room. You have trained yourself to act in a certain manner and after a while stopped realizing that you did it to yourself.
On the positive side the same occurs. As we embrace the good action and make it who we are as we keep on repeating them, this becomes who we are to the world, ourselves, and to Hashem. They uplift our spirits and change our entire demeanor and character, and we become better people because of it.
Things can sting and bother us throughout our days, but not when the newly set actions show up on our schedules. We have a regimen to administer and a process to proceed with, and even if it does not help our situation, these few moments were heaven on earth and no one can take that away from you.
Exodus 25:2 “…From all people of whom their hearts are charitable, take my collection.” Rashi explains: that this refers to the “Good Will” of the person. Each person with their will knew exactly how to donate to Hashem. Either publicly displaying their affection with gold and silver, or by their handiwork. Each showing up to the cause in their own way, giving away of their time on earth to outwardly show the truth that lives in their hearts.
Men and women alike, no matter their stance or status found it appropriate to speak of their profound love toward Hashem. Not allowing shame to possess them. Instead they acted and allowed the blessing of Hashem to flow through them.
The positive repercussions one experiences after acting out of love is the blessing of Hashem, as we gain favor and find grace in the eyes of others as they witness our hearts on display. The openness and bareness to love for the world to see opens the flood gates for blessing, prosperity, and happiness in our lives, and the rest of the world around us.
We can affect others as this rawness is contagious. People desire so deeply to express their love through proper channels and wait for the moment that they do not have to continue searching for ways to release their flood bottled up in their hearts. For so many years they’ve expressed their inner heart silently and brought shame to themselves in the process, tainted their souls with impurity and wrongfully displayed their love. They yearn for true love to be yelled from the rooftops, and finally, as they see you professing love out in the open to Hashem, they feel compelled to show up and do the same.
This is how Yehuda got his brother Reuvein to admit to his fault. By unabashedly and shamelessly telling the world and all of history the truth. This expression caught on and gave others the courage and strength to leap after him into the depth of seas, even if the repercussions were unknown. But as we know for fact, love and truth are contagious, and the suppression of it only means that it’ll be expressed wrongly.
Create a temple for Him so that He may rest among you. Open up your heart and show Him how much you desire Him. Allow the flow of love to be publicly displayed to the world, and you will bring His presence to the rest of the world.
Refuse to let the fire die inside your heart, let it roar at every occasion. Serving Hashem in our lives is not just as we Daven, it is as we accept the complete life we are in, the marriage, children, health, finances, neighbors, friends, and enemies, and make our love be heard. We express them with passion and in our own unique way, making sure that we become creatures of positive habits.
The Terumah we have to give to the world is our will! There is no shame in the world of spirituality and we should not conflate meaningless pleasures of lust and desire with the holy display of affection. Build a temple of glory and beauty and let the glow reach far and wide. Be the source of the contagion and have the heart of the world turn on and their altar’s fire start burning once again. With the love that you express, the doors to every part of your life will open and give birth to a new and beautiful creation.
LemmerHypnotherapy.com